50 States Cuisine

Dear TOH Subscribers - I'm on a quest to get recipes that are great examples of regional cooking. What dish do you have a recipe for that makes your state great?? I live in Houston, TX, and we're famous for BBQ, cowboys, and Blue Bell Ice Cream. When I think of Georgia or the deep south, I think of peaches and sweet tea.
Would you be willing to share a recipe that you feel makes a "state"ment about where you live?? Thank you in advance for your time and help.
Jennifer W.
gymnastics_coach@msn.com

Sounds like fun!

New York Cheesecake

15 graham crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 inch springform pan. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.

Students at Defer Elementary in Gross Pointe Park voted for the name before settling on a recipe. In May (2004), Defer teachers and students voted among 12 recipes for the cookie. Each had dried cherries, a nod to the fact that Michigan produces 75 percent of the nation's tart cherries, used for pie fillings, jams and juice.

The winning recipe belonged to Robert Palmer, teacher at Defer Elementary. Almost all the ingredients for the treat, including sugar, flour, and salt, are produced in Michigan.


MICHIGAN TREASURE COOKIES - nominated for Michigan state cookie

1-3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup softened butter OR margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet choc chips OR chunks
1-1/2 cups dried cherries
Additional sugar to roll dough in (about 1/4 cup)

-- In a medium bow, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
-- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter,1 cups white sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 to 3 minutes).
-- Beat in the egg and vanilla, until well blended.
-- With mixer at low speed, gradually beat in 1/3 cup of the flour mixture at a time, until all is used. Scrape sides of bowl between additions.
-- Stir in chocolate chips and cherries. Cover dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
-- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll chilled dough into golf-ball size balls. Roll the balls in the additional white sugar.
-- Place the balls 3 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Gently press with bottom of glass to flatten. Repeat with remaining dough.
-- Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 5 minutes on baking sheets, transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

When I think VA food, I think Smithfield ham, Brunswick stew, fried chicken and spoon bread. This is my favorite recipe for spoon bread, a soft, custardy corn bread and the recipe comes from a near-by restaurant that's been in business for over 50 years.

Mrs. Rowe’s Spoon Bread

2 cups milk
½ cup yellow corn meal
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix milk and corn meal in a large bowl and cook in microwave until thick. Stir Occasionally.

Mix the egg yolks, salt, sugar, melted butter and baking powder. Stir into the corn meal mixture.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into corn meal mixture.

Pour into greased 10-inch or 2-quart baking dish.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately in bowls with a pat of butter.

Can you tell me what exactly is BBQ? Where I live BBQ is something that we do to different types of food...

Why limit to 50 states? There are people from all over the world here with great recipes!

BBQ (Bar-B-Que) IS something that we do to different types of meats here in TX. It is usually grilled meat of any kind that has a generous basting of BBQ sauce. Ribs, chicken, brisket, and pulled pork are just afew of the dishes that we make here in Texas - and for most folks the hotter the better. Potato salad, ranch style beans, coleslaw, biscuits or corn bread, and any kind of dessert are the ingredients that make up a Texas Bar-B-Que. Beer, lemonade, and iced tea are the beverages.

Oh LOL its the same thing, I thought it was a certain dish that you just call that. Thanks for the explanation.

The great state of Vermont is noted for their Maple Syrup so here is a recipe for
Maple Oatmeal Pie

1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Cups Maple Syrup
6 Eggs
2 Cups Rolled Oats
2 Unbaked Pie Crusts

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Blend well. Pour into pie crusts and bake at 350* for 1 hour. Cool. Makes 2 pies. Load with lots of fresh whipped topping and enjopy.

Classic Chicago-Style Hot Dog

1 package Ball Park Beef Franks or Best Kosher Hot Dogs

1 package poppy seed coated hot dog buns

1 cup minced white sweet onions.

1 cup sweet pickle relish

1 tomato, cut into wedges

Kosher pickle spears

Classic deli-style yellow mustard

Celery Salt, to taste

Frying pan

Water

Steam your hot dogs in a frying pan that is ¾ filled with water for approx. 6-8 minutes, and then place them into a steamed poppy seed hot dog bun. While steaming, soak the onions in cold water, this will help cut the "bite" of the onion.



Now, it's time to dress the dog. Keep in mind that it's important to get a taste of each ingredient with every bite. Begin with a nice thick coat of yellow mustard, then add 2 tablespoons of the minced onions, tomato wedges, sweet pickle relish and a pickle spear. Top off your Classic Chicago Hot Dog with a sprinkling of celery salt. The key to a tasty dog that is sturdier than Sears Tower is placing the ingredients on in the proper order.

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Ohio - home of the Buckeye's

BUCKEYE CANDY

CANDY:

1 stick softened butter
1 3/4 c. (1 18 oz. jar) creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
About 1 lb. confectioners' sugar

CHOCOLATE COATING:

1 (12 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp. vegetable shortening

Cream butter, peanut butter, and vanilla together, adding confectioners' sugar until proper consistency is reached. Roll candy into 1-inch balls and place on wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Melt chips and shortening together in top of double boiler. Keep chocolate mixture in double boiler over low heat while you dip each candy. Using a toothpick, dip each ball, covering about 3/4 of candy. Place candy on sheet to cool.
Makes 8 dozen.

I'm from central Wisconsin, and although Wisconsin is known as the Dairy State, in the center of the state everywhere you look there are cranberry bogs. Here's an old recipe that uses cranberries and sauerkraut together. A lot of us central Wisconsinites are of German ancestry, so this is definitely a regional recipe. Try it - it's delicious!

CRANBERRY MEATBALLS

Meatballs:

2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs
1 cup bread or cracker crumbs
1 envelope onion soup mix

Mix and form into small balls. Place into a 9x13 cake pan. Do not brown them.

Sauce:

1 12-oz. bottle chili sauce
12 oz water (rinse out the chili sauce bottle)
1 can whole cranberry sauce (regular 15-oz. size)
1 can sauerkraut (also regular 15-oz. size)
1 cup brown sugar
Touch of oregano

Simmer together sauce ingredients for a few minutes. Pour over the meatballs in the pan. Cover with foil and bake 1 and a half to two hours at 350.

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Washington is known for its apples so my recipe is a very different apple pie recipe that a friend gave me.

Unbelieveable Apple Pie

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
3-4 cups granny smith apples, sliced
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package coconut cream pudding mix or French vanilla pudding mix (not instant)
Topping
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In mixing bowl, combine apples and pie/pudding mix; toss to coat well.
Place in unbaked pie crust.
In small bowl, mix all topping ingredients until crumbly.
Sprinkle over apples and bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake 30-40 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown and pie is bubbly.
(Try different pudding mixes for different flavors.)